Fences : A Play That Revolves Around The Times Of The United States Essay

Fences can be viewed as a family play, it can also be viewed as a work specifically of the black man's place, or plight, in a predominantly white world. Either way, it has a very valuable message. It is a true art to be able to touch on so many aspects of life in a work, aspects that may be viewed differently by different people.. Wilson's work, and the character of Troy Maxson, makes me question many things, among them myself, as well as his intended message. This is why I am so in awe of Fences, and of Wilson's talent. This is why I am writing my paper on Fences.

The play, Fences, in conclusion acquires many interpretations of the “fence” that is mentioned variously. Despite there only being one physical fence, it represents many figurative fences throughout the play. The “fence” is signified as having both positive and negative

Fences by August Wilson took place during the civil rights movement. The play is about Troy Maxson who is a fifty- three year old man whose life revolves around the generation gaps between his father and his son Cory. This paper will discuss Troy‘s relationship with his father, Troy and Cory relationship, civil rights influences on generation gaps.

August Wilson’s Fences depicts life in the 1950s for a typical African American family. The play touches upon racism, shifting family dynamics, and the politics of war. While racism plays an important and vital role in the play, instead of lamenting the issue, Wilson uses the characters as a weapon against the rampant racism of the time. In the same fashion, the relationship between Troy, Rose, and Cory demonstrates the shifting cultural and family dynamics of the decade. Likewise, Wilson’s depiction of Gabriel as a wounded veteran who is not fully supported by the government that sent him off to war offers an enlightening commentary on the politics of the era. Wilson uses the

Plays, “Fences” and “A Raisin in the Sun” share similar plots. They take place in the mid-western United States in the 1950’s and explore the family dynamics of the African-American Family and the paradigmatic shift it experienced between two generations. The older generation, who could remember slavery by first-hand experience or by being born during a time when success for the average African-Americans was systematically stifled by racist and unconstitutional laws that were put in place when slavery was legal, and the young generation that began to show some sense of entitlement, had begun to overcome institutional barriers to succeed and empower

The play, “Fences” by August Wilson describes the life of an African-American family that is por. Troy Maxson, the father of the family, was a baseball player in the

We will first discuss the play “Fences” this is a story in which the main character is a hard working African American Man. He is a good provider for his family. His wife is able to be a great homemaker and mother to his children, one of which is from another woman. Troy, who is the main character, has to make decisions not only for his family but also for his brother who is handicapped from the war. This places a lot of responsibility and pressure on Troy. Troy feels discrimination from many areas

In the Fences, by August Wilson shows that life of African Americans in the U.S. in the 1950s with the story of Troy and his family. Wilson uses the symbol of the fence to show the desires of each character like Rose’s desire is to keep her family together, Troy’s desire is to keep death out and to be not bound forever, and Bono’s desire is to follow Troy, his best friend, as an example of the right way to live and to be with Rose and Troy who are basically his family. Rose and the other seen characters represent people and show gender roles of the time, like Rose is a housewife, Troy is the provider. Also Cory is the new generation of emotion over responsibility, Gabriel represents the war heros that were permanently disabled from war

August Wilson’s Fences was centered on the life of Troy Maxson, an African American man full of bitterness towards the world because of the cards he was dealt in life amidst the 1950’s. In the play Troy was raised by an unloving and abusive father, when he wanted to become a Major League Baseball player he was rejected because of his race. Troy even served time in prison because he was impoverished and needed money so he robbed a bank and ended up killing a man. Troy’s life was anything but easy. In the play Troy and his son Cory were told to build a fence around their home by Rose. It is common knowledge that fences are used in one of two ways: to keep things outside or to keep things inside. In the same way that fences are used to keep

During the Reagan Era, the play Fences was made in 1983 by August Wilson, in which discusses the race relations and experiences of black people. The play is set during the 1950’s in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and Troy, the protagonist, is a 53-year-old man trying to satisfy his family needs economically. Throughout the play, there is racial discrimination towards black people, due to them not having their civil rights back in the 1950’s. Not only that, but this text uses other texts to add support for the style of writing and create a more significant meaning of the text. Therefore, the text Fences has borrowed from other texts by the use of biblical allusions and referring to the context of historical indications, in which adds credibility

"Fences" the play is about an African-American man who tries to raise his family and overcome the statistics in the 1950s. The main character Troy is a garbage collector who was a great ballplayer for the Negro leagues. Troy is a very arrogant man; he becomes the center of attention of his family, even though he tries to change his life. In act one he expresses his discomfort with Bono his best friend about how unfair his boss Rand is with the colored man. According to act one Troy had asked Mr. Rand Why"? Why you got the white’s men's driving and the colored lifting? “Told him what's the matter, don't I count? You think only white fellows got sense enough to drive a truck. That ain't a paper job! Hell, anybody can drive a

Fences by August Wilson exposes the idea of a family struggling through social and cultural issues. These allow for the characters to have a difficult time identifying themselves in society. The social norms established for the characters in the play cause for problematic situations in which the family is exposed to. Furthermore, this is the reason why I chose this play. After reading the text, I was able to explore some of the same situations/ themes occurring in society today.

Alan Nadel argues that the object of the fence in August Wilson’s play, “Fences” symbolizes a great struggle between the literal and figurative definitions of humanity and blackness. The author summarizes the play and uses the character Troy to explain the characterization of black abilities, such as Troy’s baseball talents, as “metaphoric,” which does not enable Troy to play in the white leagues as the period is set during segregation (Nadel 92). The author is trying to use the characters from the play as examples of black people during the segregation years to show how people of that time considered black people not as literal entities and more like figurative caricatures. Stating that these individuals were considered to be in a

Fences was written by August Wilson and is a part of Wilson's "Century Cycle" of plays set in the 1950s in African American neighborhoods. These plays, nine of which take place in Pittsburgh's Hill District, "aim to sketch the Black experience in the 20th century and "raise consciousness through theater" and echo "the poetry in the everyday language of black America". [link: https://www.theparisreview.org/interviews/839/august-wilson-the-art-of-theater-no-14-august-wilson]

The introduction to the play helps the audience to understand the dreadful ways in which the African American were treated in this time and prepare them. The audience has to look at the 1950s and how the social and economic conditions were for African Americans in that time period. African Americans in that decade were looked at as even below the grade of a citizen, and by the far the lowest grade of immigrants that were migrating the United States in search of a better life. Many African Americans migrated the North because they believed the North were more excepting that the south. Instead of welcoming them they moved them aside and tried to push them back only giving them the basic parts of life. This is one of the major things that Wilson wants the audience to take account of, as well he introduces the fences so that the audience will see the importance of then fence and how it is uses as a symbol throughout the play.